Wellington Management Group LLP Buys 3,228,923 Shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA)

Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Avidity Biosciences, Inc. (NASDAQ:RNA) by 84.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,030,949 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,228,923 shares during the quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 0.06% of Avidity Biosciences worth $322,931,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 24.8% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 990,182 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $45,479,000 after acquiring an additional 197,065 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in Avidity Biosciences by 2,263.7% during the 2nd quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 739,039 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock worth $30,190,000 after acquiring an additional 707,773 shares during the last quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. lifted its position in Avidity Biosciences by 16.7% during the 3rd quarter. RA Capital Management L.P. now owns 6,300,408 shares of the biotechnology company’s stock valued at $289,378,000 after purchasing an additional 900,000 shares during the period. Sofinnova Investments Inc. acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $875,000. Finally, Darwin Global Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Avidity Biosciences during the 2nd quarter valued at about $8,108,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on RNA. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $54.00 to $53.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $59.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada began coverage on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $67.00 target price on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $96.00 target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Avidity Biosciences from $56.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $63.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Avidity Biosciences news, insider Teresa Mccarthy sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.14, for a total transaction of $1,028,500.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 94,018 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,867,900.52. This trade represents a 21.01 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Arthur A. Levin sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.73, for a total transaction of $228,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $678,175.90. This represents a 25.21 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 150,866 shares of company stock worth $6,724,557. Company insiders own 3.68% of the company’s stock.

Avidity Biosciences Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:RNA opened at $38.27 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.29 and a beta of 0.89. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $44.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.74. Avidity Biosciences, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $6.79 and a fifty-two week high of $56.00.

Avidity Biosciences (NASDAQ:RNA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The biotechnology company reported ($0.65) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.79) by $0.14. The business had revenue of $2.34 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.09 million. Avidity Biosciences had a negative net margin of 2,772.45% and a negative return on equity of 27.66%. Equities research analysts expect that Avidity Biosciences, Inc. will post -2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

About Avidity Biosciences

Avidity Biosciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company, engages in the delivery of RNA therapeutics. It develops antibody oligonucleotide conjugates (AOC) that are designed to treat diseases previously untreatable with RNA therapeutics. The company's lead product candidate AOC 1001 for the treatment of myotonic dystrophy type 1, a rare monogenic muscle disease that is in phase 1/2 clinical trial.